[March 19, 2014]
(Reuters) — Apple Inc said it would offer an iPad 4 tablet in place
of the mid-range iPad 2 at the same price and the company launched a
cheaper, lower capacity version of its plastic-backed iPhone 5C in
Australia, China and some European countries.

The iPad 4 is available at $399 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model and $529
for the 16GB Wi-Fi + cellular model at the four major U.S. carriers — AT&T Inc, Sprint Corp, T-Mobile US Inc and Verizon Communications
Inc.

The fourth-generation iPad, which has a 9.7-inch Retina display and
supports 4G carriers worldwide, was launched in 2012, while the iPad
2 was launched in 2011.

Apple discontinued the iPad 4 last year when it launched its current
flagship tablet, the iPad Air. The company had cut the price of iPad
2 to $399 in 2012.

Tablets based on Apple's iOS platform held 36 percent share of the
market in 2013, trailing those based on Google Inc's Android
software that had 62 percent share, according to research firm
Gartner.

Apple also launched on Tuesday an 8GB iPhone 5C priced at 429 pounds
($710), 40 pounds cheaper than the 16GB version, according to the
company's UK website. (http://link.reuters.com/vyx67v)

"We believe this newly configured device will have a lower gross
margin as we estimate the difference in cost to Apple for the 8GB of
NAND is $5 to $10," Cross Research analyst Shannon Cross wrote in a
research note.

Analysts have said earlier that the iPhone 5C, which is about $100
cheaper than the iPhone 5S, was unable to grab market share from
rivals offering lower-cost phones based on Android.

Apple's shares were up 0.5 percent at $529.60 in noon trading on
Tuesday on the Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bangalore;
editing by Sriraj
Kalluvila and Kirti Pandey)